Bicycling & Bikesharing

Bicycling for transportation is a healthy, fun, and environmentally-friendly way of getting around. The Washington, DC area has hundreds of miles of interconnected off-street trails and on-street bike routes. Bike trips are a small but growing percentage of all trips in the area, and the number of bikes in Metro station bike racks attest to cycling's importance as the first or last leg of "multimodal" trips.

Shared-Use Trails

The Washington, DC area has a great network of off-street trails which are shared by cyclists, walkers, joggers, and others. For more information and tips on safely sharing the trails, see the Shared-Use Trails page.

Bikesharing

Bikesharing is public transportation using bicycles. Cities around the world have introduced bikesharing systems as a transportation option for residents and visitors. Capital Bikeshare is the regional bikesharing system in the Washington, DC area, with a network of bikes and docking stations in Arlington, VA, Alexandria, VA, and Washington, DC. Members can join for a year, a month, three days or 24 hours. Special fleet bikes can be checked out at one docking station and dropped off at any other docking station in the system with the first half-hour free.

Bicycling and Transit

In addition to being a door-to-door transportation mode, bicycling can fill the gap for people that live or work a mile, or a few miles, from a rail station. Many area commuters bike from home to the nearest Metro station and rely on transit to get them the rest of the way to work. Bikesharing also provides an option for those who take transit to work, but want to run an errand or go to meeting near their workplace.

Guaranteed Ride Home

If you bike to work, you may be eligible for Commuter Connections' Guaranteed Ride Home (GRH). GRH provides free taxi rides home when the unexpected happens. Guaranteed Ride Home is also available to commuters who use other commuting alternatives, such as carpooling or bicycling. More about the Guaranteed Ride Home Program.

Street Smart – Street Smart is an annual public education, awareness and behavioral change campaign in the Washington, DC, suburban Maryland and northern Virginia area. The campaign has used radio, newspaper, and transit advertising, public awareness efforts, and added law enforcement to respond to the challenges of pedestrian and bicyclist safety.

Safe Routes to School – Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs are sustained efforts by parents, schools, community leaders and local, state, and federal governments to improve the health and well-being of children by enabling and encouraging them to walk and bicycle to school.

Did You Know?

The average person loses 13 lbs. their first year of commuting by bike.

All counters, YTD

Arlington County Commuter Services (ACCS) is funded in part by grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and the Virginia
Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT).